Trying to describe fresh hop beers is hard because rather than just reaching for another adjective, we grope toward different realms of experience. Drinking a very good one is to experience synesthesia and encounter the taste of iridescent green.
Read MoreA small program at a neighborhood brewery isn’t the kind of thing to make big news—except that breweries across the country do these kinds of things every day. Taken together, they’re important elements of healthy local communities.
Read MoreThe newest trend among young drinkers is something called “icy beer”—lager on the rocks, if you will. Is this the end of civilization, or a tasty summer treat? I consider the question.
Read MoreThe art of brewing has been constantly evolving for thousands of years. Technologies like heated stones, elbow thermometers, and fish bladder finings may have run their course, but others transformed beer. Which were the most significant? The answers lie herein!
Read MoreSome exciting new research is happening as I write this, and will examine why fresh hops taste different than dried ones. Four breweries are participating, and Oregon State University will be analyzing them. Here are the details.
Read MoreThree years ago, I wrote about a hop making its way through advanced trials, and a couple weeks ago, it made it to the promised land. In today’s post I speak with breeders and researchers about newly-minted Dolcita and what makes her special.
Read MoreWhen Canadians cleansed their shelves of American products following the Trump tariffs, they didn’t stay empty. Canada may have dropped its embargo of American goods this week, but getting that shelf space back isn’t guaranteed.
Read MoreIn the 2022 edition of its annual poll, Gallup found that 67% of Americans drank alcohol. Last week, the firm reported just 54% of Americans still did. The number of American drinkers may have declined 19% in three years—or this partly a result of statistical “noise?”
Read MoreThree months ago, I wrote about Zoiglhaus’ two-week lagers. Can they really be as good as lagers conditioned for a month? We put them to a (triangle) test to find out.
Read MoreWhat are the landmark beers that define the modern era of American brewing? The newly-created Craft Beer Hall of Fame takes a crack at it, but I have questions.
Read MoreTen years isn’t that long, not really. But the last ten years? In so many ways, it seems like a century.
Read MoreOr, how Britain got the Honorable Order of Bass Drinkers while Americans got the milkshake IPA.
Read MoreFor centuries, people have repeated myths or “romantic facts” about beer, misinforming the public about its history and science. But which of these are the biggest whoppers? Our crack team of researchers has put together the definitive list.
Read MoreAs a follow-up to my Craft Beer & Brewing column on “clean” saisons, here’s a fuller discussion of the style, along with a lot more description and advice from Upright’s Alex Ganum than I was able to fit into the print column
Read MoreThe Hop Quality Group and USDA breeder John Henning are close to naming their new public hop, HQG-4, which should happen this year. It’s an exciting project, and could usher in a new era in public hops.
Read MoreJack McAuliffe has died. The brewer who co-founded New Albion Brewing in 1977 (or was it ‘76?—accounts vary) was the first of the small-time breweries to start up in the late 1970s. He died this week at 80. A brief remembrance.
Read MoreA beer can only has so much real estate. On it breweries must place text and graphics that will both entice and inform its customers. The trend is a minimalist, less-is-more approach to the “informing” piece—but has it gone too far?
Read MoreLast week, VinePair published an article about the birthplaces of famous beer styles. It included some hinky information—offering me the opportunity to explore an important topic: the “romantic fact.” That is, a story shot through with fascinating, possibly nostalgic details that turn out to be hogwash.
Read MoreFor reasons no one can quite identify, a disproportionate number of brewers have decamped from Detroit to Portland, where they founded some pretty impressive breweries. For Montavilla Brew Works’ 10th anniversary, they’re doing a cool collaboration.
Read MoreIn an annual tradition, today we salute all those independent breweries out there toiling to make the best beer they can in an increasingly difficult environment.
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